Over A Month After Hurricane Maria And David Begnaud Is Still Asking The Tough Questions In Puerto Rico

If you’re Puerto Rican, you’ve likely been paying close attention to any and all news coming from the island, especially if you’ve got family and/or friends in Puerto Rico. After being hit by one of the worst hurricanes in its history just over a month ago, Puerto Rico is still suffering. The majority of people are still without power. Many have died in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, due to lack of food, water, and electricity. Recovery efforts have not been optimal, with the Trump administration dragging its feet, patting itself on the back and letting the temporary lift on the Jones Act expire, keeping many other countries that planned on providing help from doing so in a quick and concise manner.

With little to no electricity or phone service to locals on the island, how do we know so much about the situation there? Reporter David Begnaud, that’s how.

CBS reporter David Begnaud has been on the ground doing the hard work from the beginning.

“Saint David of Begnaud, Patron Saint of Puertorricans. He who has kept us informed of what’s truly happening in the island. May his cellphone battery be forever charged,” wrote Instagram user @captainanabanana, who also printed several of these images out as stickers to give away.

NPR Latino got on a call with him recently and talked about the Begnaud phenomena.

Credit: NPR Latino USA

You can tell that Puerto Ricans, their culture and their infectious spirit have really resonated with Begnaud. He also admits he didn’t really know much about Puerto Rico or its people until reporting there. His lack of knowledge, however, didn’t prevent him from really connecting and finding a special place in his heart for Puerto Ricans and for doing everything he can to get to the bottom of why the humanitarian crisis there is as out of hand as it is.